THE MORNING OREGONLAN, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1901.
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TODAY'S "WEATHER. Occasional rain;
fresh and probably brisk southerly winds.
PORTLAND, TUESDAY, MAltCH 2G.
It is to be feared that our "antl-im-perlallst"
friends are doing themselves
great injustice in Ignoring the illus
tration concerning "consent of the gov
erned" offered by the Administration
and Its sympathizers from the history
of our own Southern States. Certain
points of resemblance between their
case and that of the Philippines should
be explained away or else they will
continue to embarrass the contention
that no man Is .good enough to gov
ern another without that other's con
sent. The South rebelled because It
wanted to go it alone. It -wanted self
government. It wanted independence, It
didn't like the new President, But the
Nation's answer was a negative. It
regarded continued union and rebuke
of dismemberment as better, not
only for the North, butfor the South.
It set the seal of disapproval forever
upon the doctrine of secession a seal
that can only be broken by some such
xnlsgovernment as justified the rebellion
of the American colonists from Great
Britain. The North proved to be the
stronger. It overbore the demand of
the South for self-government, just as
we are overbearing today the demand
of the Tagals for "self-government,"
The point seems established, therefore,
that the desire of a portion of the
United States for self-government has
no historical standing for recognition.
Our title to the islands is on all hands
confessed to be genuine. They belong
to us as much as Florida does, or Ore
gon. They are In rebellion, and what
ever becomes of them will be decided
without regard to the abstract proposi
tion that self-government is the inalien
able right of every segment of a great
Nation. Another analogy Is likely to
be developed in the sequel. The South
is glad today that it did not triumph;
and the Philippines are showing In
creasing satisfaction with American
sovereignty.
Mr. Dellenbaugh's new volume on
"The North Americans of Yesterday"
affords cold comfort to believers in
Asiatic origins of our Indians and in
voyages of Asiatics to our shores. The
reasons for his skepticism are varied,
but the principal one is supplied by the
glacial epoch. Up to comparatively re
cent times, that Is, to within 1000 years
or so, travel from Siberia to North
America was practically a physical
impossibility. It is doubtful If Alaska
permitted human life, even of the Es
kimo order, before the discovery of
America. It is Mr. Dellenbaugh's belief
that all the tribes of the Northwest
migrated thither from the south and
southeast, and not within recent geo
logic time from the Asiatic direction.
The congestion of life in Mexico and
Central America is explained, In fact,
by the Intense cold that up to recent
times pervaded the now temperate re
gions. If migration had been by way
of Behring Strait, the wanderers could
hardly have made the southward Jour
ney without leaving some traces of
their art, but no pottery has been found
between the Yukon and the Humboldt.
Languages show no connection, and as
for the maritime theory, Mr. Dellen
baugh dismisses it as "more absurd
than the other." Vessels were frail and
did not venture far from the coast. The
adventurous Northmen crossed the At
lantic, but this Is' a different matter
from supposing the conservative Mon
gols to have braved the far wider Pa
cific "The more the Amerinds are
studied," he says, "the more homogen
ous do we find them, and the more
isolated from Old World Influences." It
is probable that America shared in a
general dispersal of the race, when
land connections were far more exten
sive than now but this occurred at any
rate before the Ice period, which en
dured from 10,000 lo 20,000 years, and
prevailed on this continent as far south
as the Ohio and Columbia Rivers.
According to the biennial report of the
Secretary of State for Oregon, 678 cor
porations filed articles in his offlce at
Salem in the two years ending January
31, 1900, with total capital stocks
amounting to $127,283,450. Compared
with four years ago, this shows an In
crease of nearly 100 in the number of
corporations formed, and much more
than a doubling of the amount of cap
ital Invested. The O. R. & N. was in
corporated in July, 1896, for $35,000,000,
but If we leave this single Item out of
the calculation, Secretary Klncald's re
port for 1895 and 1896 shows a total of
392 corporations with a capital stock of
$53,000,000. This is an excellent Illustra
tion of the way in which capital Is go
ing Into corporations. Many of these
corporations have no tangible real or
personal property at all commensurate
with their Income from the commufftty
or -with their profits. Other states are
finding- ways to reach these activities
and make them bear their just propor
tion of the public burdens, but no such
effort is being made in Oregon. The
Missouri Legislature, for example. Is
now perfecting, under advice and pres
sure from Governor Dockery, a measure
which will tax franchise-owning cor
porations upon either a fixed value of
their franchise or else a percentage on
their gross Income. It Is not easy to
decide between various methods of tax
ing corporations; but some method
should be put Into operation, for the
simple reason that -wealth, which under
the simpler business arrangements for
merly in vogue -was represented "by vis
ible property, 'now escapes taxation
-when Invested in the stocks and bonds
of corporations whose property con
sists largely In franchises, and In es
tablished arrangements that enable
them to do an immense business -with
very little property available to the
Assessor.
But we must discriminate. A corpo
ration Is not to be taxed merely because
it is a corporation, instead of a part
nership or an Individual. A railroad,
or a street-car system, or an electric
lighting system, or a gas plant, or a
telegraph system, or a telephone sys
tem, should be taxed its Just propor
tion, if it Is owned by a partnership
not incorporated, or by an individual.
There Is one basis of taxation for the
public utilities that enjoy franchises,
and another and smaller basis of taxa
tion for the Joint stock companies -whose
special privileges under the law are
perhaps" confined-to limited liabilities.
Take a street-car company doing busi
ness on the streets of Portland, or a
telephone or gas company how large a
proportion of the wealth of such a con
cern consists of the franchise It enjoys,
which cost it nothing originally, but
which Is now of great value and is cer
tain to become In time of immense
value? Upon this Important part of Its
assets and earning power it pays no tax
whatever, notwithstanding the great
benefit it derives from the public, and
the large revenue the city could derive
fr6m such franchises if it were to take
possession of them and hire them out
for annual rentals. A moment's reflec
tion will show that In this escape from
taxation may be found a profound
cause of the heavy -burden under
which- both real and personal property
struggles in its effort to provide as it
always used to do the revenues of state,
county and city. Of the various meas
ures proposed, taxation of gross receipts
is doubtless the most equitable, for
capital stock might be far over or un
der the concern's earning power. It Is
no defense to such a law that a con
cern Is not making money. Unprofita
ble real estate and unsuccessful busi
ness houses have to pay taxes, and the
Incomes of profitless corporations are
rightfully no more exempt.
INTELLIGENCE FALSE TO ITS DUTY".
The other day a negro was promptly
lynched in Tennessee when the jury
failed to convict him, and a negro
woman In another part of Tennessee
about the same time was taken by a
mob and shot to death on suspicion of
being an accomplice In a small theft.
This unrestrained habit of mob murder
'at the South has grown fat on what It
has fed. and from lynching negroes ac
cused of rape and murder It has come
to be a common thing to lynch a negro
accused of a small offense. Negroes
have been murdered by a mob for
whipping a white man in a fair fist
fight; they have been murdered for re
fusing to disclose t,he hiding-place of
a friend the mob was seeking to mur
der. They have been murdered when
identification with the guilty not only
utterly failed, but was solemnly denied
by the victim of the assault The able
negro editor of the New York Age,
Thomas F. Fortune, is right when he
says that the lynching habit has be
come a disease whose contagion is re
sponsible for the Increase of lynching
in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana and
Ohio; is responsible for the negro riots
in New York City. There Is only one
remedy forthls frightful disease. The
representatives of intelligent public
opinion at the North and the South
must resume the natural leadership
that they have abdicated. There are
hundreds of Intelligent Influential men
at the South who are responsible by
their indifference for the multiplication
of mob murders. These men can stop
this practice of mob murders if they
wish. So. too, at the North. The crim
inal indifference of the natural leaders
of public opinion to mob murders has
made them possible. It is a trite but
sound saying that in the long run moral
outrages are economic errors. History
Is full of proof of It
Slavery was conceded to be a viola
tion of moral justice not only by Lin
coln and Henry Clay, but by Robert E.
Lee. Has it not been proved by the
awful object-lesson of our Civil War to
have been a terrible economic blunder,
whose evil consequences are not yet
abated? The moral outrage of human
justice by tyrants has always been In
flicted at terrible ultimate economic dis
asters. The price that the world has
always paid In the long run for Inflict
ing or permitting moral outrage to be
wrought Is the price that we shall
surely pay If we continue our indiffer
ence to the growth of the lynching
habit at the South and the North. We
shall finally be worried to death by
the same pack of howling dogs that we
suffer the mob to turn loose on the ob
jects of their fury. In no very long
time we shall have the same prevalence
of mob law that exists in Sicily, where,
under the rule of the Mafia, Individuals
take the law Into their own hands with
the approval and connivance of their
neighbors. The Mafia stands for the
primitive social instinct of dislike for
law and order, opposition and hatred
for those In authority. This Sicilian
Mafia substitutes for the lawful courts
the execution of the decrees of a body
as secret and deadly as the Holy Vehme
of the Middle Ages. From lynching an
accused negro for murder the Southern
mob has reached a point where white
men are victims of Judge Lynch. Ne
groes are now lynched for petty thefts
where once they were lynched for only
capital crimes. Of course it is easy lo
say, "I don't care what happens, so long
as It doesn't happen to mc." But just
there lies the trouble, our easy-going
friend. It does really happen to you;
It does really happen to us all, when
ever the mob becomes satisfied that
they, with impunity, can doom men to
death, to loss of liberty or property,
without due process of law.
If the intelligent, intellectual leaders
of society through selfish, seu&eless in-
dlfferentism continue to permit mob
murders to multiply, some day we shall
have a Jack Cade ordering some one
robbed of life or liberty or property
because he has become odious through
his wealth or his political opinions.
Cade hanged a clerk because he could
read and write; and he beheaded Ix)rd
Say because he could speak French,
had erected a grammar school and a
paper mill, and introduced printing.
We may be sure that in due time the
mob we have permitted to work Its evil,
ferocious will on the negro will subvert
the state. We shall have a Mafia prac
tically all about us like an atmosphere,
and when the white bulldog has worried
the life out of the poor, miserable black
sheep he will have acquired a taste for
free mutton, whether under a black or
a white pelt, and he will hunt some
other flock that Is defenseless, so finally
your sheep-kllllng dog will be the an
archist dictator to well-bred society of
the price of its life.
The negro may be ground down
to the earth through this ferocious per
secution by land pirates; he may disap
pear, even as the Indian has, In North
America, and the Polynesian In the
islands of the Pacific, but even then we
who, in defiance of our best lights, have
permitted mob law to work Its cruel
will, will not escape dire punishment;
for the ferocious elements that have
been permitted to hang and burn the
negro without due process of law' will
sooner or later make the natural lead
ers of society who have winked at mob
rule to deplore their lndlfferentlsm In
the sackcloth of repentance and the
ashes of disaster and defeat. Economic
retribution followed the mordl outrage
of slavery; and we shall surely pay a
bitter price for whistling down the wind
the moral injustice of suffering 'the mob
to shoot, hang and burn a negro on any
pretext with Impunity. The wretches
who rule these mobs may yet make an
atmosphere In which equal rights under
law will not be secure, even for white
men.
JEFFERSOXI-AN SIMPLICITY.
The Woman's Tribune says:
Did you ever read about the inauguration of
Thomas Jefferson? How President Adams left
Washington that day, and Jefferson rode on
horseback over from Montlcello without es
cort, and unattended went to the Capitol to
take the oath?
The Woman's Tribune ought to know
better than to repeat this story, which
is a fabrication composed years after
Jefferson's induction Into office. Here
Is what the Philadelphia Aurora of
March 11, 1801, said about the Inaugu
ration: ,
A discharge from the company of "Washing
ton Artillery ushered in the day, and about
10 o'clock the Alexandria company of rifle
man, with the company of artillery,' paraded
In front of the President's lodgings. At 12
o'clock Thomas Jefferson, attended by a num
ber of lils fellow-citizens, among whom -were
many members of Congress, repaired to the
Capitol. His dress was, as usual, that of a
plain citizen, without any distinctive badge of
offlce. He entered the Capitol under a dis
charge from the- artillery. ... As -soon
as he withdrew a discharge of artillery was.
made. The remainder of the day was devoted
to purposes of festivity, and at night there
was a pretty general illumination.
John Davis, an Englishman, who
wrote a book of travels about the
United States, was the author of the
tale that Jefferson rode all alone to
the Capitol, went In unattended and
began his duties. Davis declared that
lie was an eye-witness of the scene,
but it has been proven that he was
not In Washington at the time. Jeffer
son was anything but a man of sim
plicity of character or demopratlc hab
its. His habits at home were luxuri
ous; he dined off silver plate; gave fine
dinners and lived most expensively. He
spent 5S000 for Madeira wine alone dur
ing his eight years of life In the White
House. He was.a man of Parisian pol
ish of manners; was never at loss for a
well-turned compliment when a hand
some woman was presented to him at
his Presidential levees; he was the best
read and most cultivated man of all the
leading politicians of his time. ,
"Jeffersonlan simplicity" Is a political
myth. The only inauguration that was
marked by any democratic simplicity
In any of Its coincidents was that of
Andrew Jackson, in 1829. When Jack
son read his address to the 10,000 peo
ple assembled, in order to restrain them
from embracing him It was necessary
to use an Immense chain, which kept
them back from the portico of the east
front of the Capitol, where he stood.
The festivities which followed at the
White House were notable for the In
vasion of a vulgar crowd of hungry,
thirsty, "half horse, half alligator"
admirers of Jackson from the South
and Southwest, who ate and drank like
pigs, smashed chinaware, glass and fur
niture, swilled champagne from large
water 'goblets, and In general behaved
In a scandalous manner. The crowd
was too great to be .accommodated In
the house, so great tubs of whisky
punch were placed in the yard to sat
isfy the thirst of the outsiders. Jack
son Tilmself was a man of dignified
manners and courteous address, a man
of sobriety, who made, so excellent an
impression on Daniel Webster that he
wrote his wife coricernlng him in terms
of very high respect, but Jackson's con
stituency unquestionably represented,
from some parts of the West and South,
a very rough school of American life
and manners. ''Democratic simplicity"
had no real existence In Jefferson's day,
but it did put in a most picturesque
appearance when Andrew Jackson was
inaugurated.
GROWTH IX "WHEAT ACREAGE.
That vast region of but partially de
veloped wealth, somewhat vaguely
known as the "Inland Empire," "East
of the Mountains," or the "Upper Coun
try," Is right In line, with the rest of
the Pacific Coast In the expansion pol
icy. The early settlers In that favored
region naturally selected the best lands
obtainable for agricultural purposes.
These lands, even under the most care
less and slipshod methods of farming,
have made fortunes for many of their
owners; afforded a good living to oth
ers, and have proved disappointing to
but few. As these select lands were
appropriated, the later comers were
forced back on second choice, inferior
quality not always Implied by this
term, but more remote locations ren
dering the lands less desirable.
" The wheatgrower In the less favored
portions of the San Joaquin Valley, in
California, considers eight to ten bush
els of wheat per acre a good crop, and
there are many localities In the bleak
Dakotas, and even In Kansas, where
similar results are considered satisfac
tory. Under such circumstances It is
but natural that there should be a
growing demand in the Pacific North
west for light lands, which, even ir the
poor years, are almost certain to turn
off a crop of tweive to fifteen bushels
to the acre, and during a year when
moisture Is plentiful, as wa3 the case
last year, may increase this amount to
forty and fifty bushels to the acre.
There are still hundreds of thousands
of acres of idle land In Oregon and
Washington, adapted to wheatgrowlng,
and it Is not at all Improbable that the
present production of 30,000,000 to 35,000,
000 bushels per year will be increased to
twice that amount.
Heavy sales of lands are reported In
what Is known as the Horse Heaven
country, lying between the Columbia
River and the main line of the North
ern Pacific Railroad. Up to a short
time ago these lands have generally
been regarded as unsuitable for the
production of wheat, on account of the
scarcity of moisture. It has been dem
onstrated, however, that there Is a
much greater amount of moisture
through that region than there is In
many portions of the San Joaquin Val
ley. It has. In fact, produced wheat
running as high as twenty-seven bush
els to the acre. This year the wheat
acreage In that section will be Increased
several thousand acres, and there will
also be an Increase in the light lands
in other portions of the Northwest.
It may not be possible for the wheat
grower In the Pacific Northwest to pro
duce wheat as cheaply as It can be pro
duced by the Californlans who work the
light lands of the San Joaquin on an
extensive scale, but even the poorest
land that will be worked in Oregon
and Washington will turn off so much
better crops than are secured by the
Calif ornians that there Is a margin of
profit In the operation, and we can ac
cordingly expect a steady increase In
the amount of the cereal grown In the
Inland Empire. This increase will more
than offset the loss In the wheat yield
occasioned by the increase In diversified
farming in the Willamette Valley.
Wheat Is still king in the Pacific North
west, and every additional acre of It
adds to the general prosperity of the
two states so vitally Interested In its
production.
Nicholas, Emperor of all the Rus
sians, is In daily, perhaps hourly, dan
ger of his life. Though a mild-mannered
young man, of kindly and sympa
thetic nature; earnestly desiring the
good of his people and the advancement
of his empire, he is hated by a fac
tion of his subjects because he Is their
ruler, and by a multitude of malcon
tents throughout Europe because he
was born to Imperial station. The spirit
in which the inoffensive Elizabeth, Em
press of Austria, was hunted to her
death, and that which struck Humbert
of Italy down, is as malignant as un
reasoning, and men possessed of It
haunt the monarchies of Europe today,
insane with the desire to kill their rul
ers. To temporize with this spirit 13
folly; to eradicate by force, Impossible.
The heritage of ages of oppression, it
has come down to Russia from the
times of Ivan the Terrible and those of
the remorseless Catharine, and to Ger
many from that of the irascible and im
placable Frederick William L It may
we"ar Itself out through the passing
years, but in the meantime monarchs
must look to their safety without ever
being sure of it, and pay for pomp and
power the fearful price of unrest, dan
ger and possible death by violence,
fixed upon It by their ancestors 'and
perpetuated from generation to genera
tion by the unreason of hereditary
hatred. The Czar, more fortunate than
his grandfather, may die in his bed;
but If so, it will be due to the unre
mitting vigilance of his attendants
rather than to any favor he may win
as a just ruler from the 'socialistic, an
archistic, nihilistic class that will be
satisfied with nothing less" than his
death by violence.
R. R. Poole, Commissioner of Agri
culture for Alabama, Is authority for
the statement that many colored men of
that state, who have heretofore been
tenants only, are becoming owners of
their own homesteads. This is in line
with late assurances of Booker T.
Washington, of Tuskegee Institute,
whose endeavor Is to bring his race up
to the. self-respecting, self-supporting
status that can only be reached by de
velopment along Industrial lines. The
negro problem cannot be settled by
Statutory enactment or Presidential
proclamation; it must be solved by
growth, properly directed and patiently
encouraged. Negroes need to acquire
homes and own lands; It Is not neces
sary or desirable at present that they
carry elections.
It may be hoped that the cowardly
murderer who killed a man by a shot
through a window while at supper at
Hood River Saturday night will be
promptly apprehended, tried, convict
ed and hanged. The criminal Is be
lieved to be a resident of Washington.
Cowlitz County, of that state, has a
recent record of prompt dealing with an
assassin of this type, which Skamania
County will be fortunate if able to du
plicate. Of all the murderous sneaks
that cupidity, jealousy or personal spite
has developed, he who shoots a man
through a window Is the most despica
ble. It is in the Interest of law and or
der, as well as of community safety,
that such a criminal be brought to Jus
tice with the least possible delay.
Queen Victoria .has been dead but
little more than two" months, but
thanks for condolences that continue to
be received at intervals from her suc
cessor seem to refer to an event of
long ago. Events crowd upon events
so hurriedly as to make the records of
recent yesterdays seem like ancient
history. It Is thus that the thanks
of King Edward conveyed to the Ca
nadian Society cf New York the other
day for condolence upon the death of
the Queen have been outdated by the
happenings of the brief interval that
has elapsed since the close of the reign
of Queen Victoria.
A correspondent In Tien Tsin speakB
of General Ballloud (French) and Gen
eral Lorne-Campbell (English). By this
happy use of the parenthesis all doubt
as to the nationally of a commander Is
cleared up, and the reader Is likely
never to confuse General Elsenheimer
(German) with General Kvinoschovltch
(Russian) or General O'HoolIhan (Irish).
Governor Pennoyer does not have to
defend himself of the Harrison incident
in 1891. No President has a right to go
gadding round the country- Why
should a President not attend to his
business as well as a Governor?
England and Russia will settle that
Tien Tsin fracas by diplomacy. Thus,
although the matter will never be set
tled. It will always remain a closed Incident
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PROFANITY
New York Tribune.
Professor G. T. W. Patrick, of the Uni
versity of Iowa, recently read a paper on
"Profanity" before a scientific society In
Lincoln, Neb. A good deal of it was
couched In technical language which can
not easily be translated into popular
phraseology. And some of the Ideas which
he advanced will probably not receive
unanimous approval from those who have
studied human emotion and its expression
with care. Nevertheless, the topic Is one
In which a great many people besides
scientists are interested. What Professor
Patrick set out to do was to answer two
questions: Why do men swear? And
when they swear why do they use the
words they do?
In the first place, the variety of cir
cumstances In which profanity is indulged
In is pointed out. It Is characteristic of
anger, a failure to find adequate expres
sion in ordinary language for an emphatic
statement, and an effort to stimulate
workmen and horses to extra effort. And
the use of oaths Is accompanied, by a
pleasant feeling of relief from some plaln
ful stress. On this latter point Professor
Patrick quotes a sentence of J. H. Camp
bell, concerning the physiology of the
emotions: "The shouting and gesticula
tion which accompany an outburst of pas
sion act physiologically by relieving nerve
tensfon, and, indeed, as Hughlings Jack
son has suggested, swearing may not be
without Its physiological justification."
The lecturer at Lincoln elaborates the Idea
still further by remarking that in the
primitive and natural form of combat the
whole muscular system comes into lively
action, and any restraint that Is put upon
this form of activity creates a necessity
for other outlets. "Men In anger may
perhaps be obliged to repress every overt
act and every expression of emotion ex
cept facial movements or some form of
vocalization. Profanity Is therefore a
safety valve. ... If the man did not
swear he would do something worse. It
may be likened to the engine blowing oft
steam."
Professor Patrick Insists, however, that
this theory is not altogether satisfactory
to him. He raises both psychological and
physiological objections to it, some of
which will Impress the average reader as
a trifle abtruse. But he also urges that
swearing is more than a mere expression
of emotion. It Is designed to proauce
an effect on somebody else. He traces
Its origin back to the animal Instinct to
fight or fly when attacked. In a primi
tive stage of existence the creature would.
In the former Instance, show its teeth, get
its back up and spit or growl. All of this
behavior, would be intended to put the
enemy to flight, says. Professor Patrick,
who adds: "The human analogue of the
growl or roar of anger Is the profane
oath."
One can easily recall situations to which
this explanation does not seem to apply.
When a man's collar button rolls under
the bed or the bureau, for Instance, and
he Indulges in unparliamentary language,
It can hardly be Imagined that he delib
erately alms to intimidate the elusive bit
of metal. Still, it may be that the Iowa
professor is referring only to the evolu
tion of the swearing Instinct in man, and
does not intend that his theory shall ex
plain each particular manifestation of It.
The hypothesis advanced to account for
the habit of swearing leads naturally to
Professor Patrick's, explanation of the
form of men's oaths, the reckless use of
the names of the Deity, the saints and
sacred things. Assuming that this mo
tive is or was when the practice origi
natedto shock or startle, It would be
hard to find a better way to accomplish
the object than the practice which Is for
bidden by the third commandment.
Here, again, the theory falls to cover all
the observed facts, however accurately It
may fit a few. There are some oaths the
precise significance of which Is obscure.
But, on the other hand, there are many
which distinctly call down the curse of
Heaven upon the person addressed, and
are meant to do so. And It Is probable
that a good deal of the swearing that
Professor Patrick has in mind Is made up
of contractions from what were orig
inally well-defined maledictions, the most
emphatic form of expressing a wish that
evil, bodily or spiritual, might befall some
body. There is more lp an oath of this
kind than shocking the sensibilities of the
subject.
SLAVERY STILL IX VOGUE.
Convict Leaiie System Abused In
Sontli Carolina.
Chicago Times-Herald.
Investigation of abuses growing out of
the convict lease system In South Caro
lina has revealed the existence of a traf
fic In negro laborers that presents all the
elements of brutality that belonged to the
days of slavery before the war. So far
as enforced servitude under cruel task
masters Is concerned, It Is even mora
shocking than the slavery which was
wiped out by the proclamation of Presi
dent Lincoln.
In response to the. demands of Judge
Bennett, of Anderson, S. C, the grand
jury of that county made an investiga
tion of the system of bondage that was
believed to be in lorce in that section of
the state. The report of the Jury makes
a disclosure of horrors that are astound
ing to those who Imagined that slavery
was abolished as an Incident of the
bloody four years' struggle for the Union.
The Jury found that negroes had been
bought and eold; that they had been
seized on the highways and kidnaped and
sent to the stockades, or prison pens,
where they were bound and shackled
and warned that death would follow any
effort to escape. Negroes sent to these
stockades were sold or leased to farmers
and planters, and In many Instances
were brutally whipped to the point of In
sensibility tor no offense whatever. Con
tracts with planters stipulated that the-
negroes should be worked under guard
and locked up at night.
That such practices could exist in any
'section of the Union In the beginning of
the 20th century without attracting pub
lic protests taxes credulity to the ut
most. It Is easy to trace the growth of
the conditions which have led to these
amazing disclosures, however. The pa
rent of the South Carolina prison pen or
stockade Is the infamous convict lease
system in force in that state. So highly
did the farmers regard the plan of leas
ing convicts from the state that private
stockades were finally erected, and when
convicts could not be obtained from the
penitentiaries a price was fixed on the
head of every negro who could be kid
naped and thrown Into "bondage under the
lash.
The convict lease 6ystem is a reproach
to our civilization and a disgrace to the
commonwealths which tolerate it. If the
states will not abolish It the Federal Gov
ernment should not hesitate to resort to
drastic measures to wipe It off the conti
nent. Christian Barbarities in China.
Savannah News.
Before the invasion of China by the
allies China and Japan had an exalted idea
of Western civilization and respect for the
Christian religion. Japanese statesmen
frankly confess they have been pro
foundly shocked by the conduct of the
European soldiers in China and If the
Japanese were shocked must not the
Chinese be more firmly convinced than
ever that they are much further removed
from barbarism than the Europeans?
Sensible Conclusion.
Washington Post.
After deliberate consideration of the
matter, Mr. Bryan has decided that it
would be undignified for him to carry
Chicago for Carter Harrison. In view of
last year's result In that city, it would
seem that Mr. Bryan does well to permit
Carter to wrestle with he Chicago voters
without his assistance
THE BLESSINGS OF P0YERTY.
Chicago Times-Herald.
The usual commonplace homilies on
the "blessings of poverty" by those who
are struggling strenuously to get away
from the "blessings'' are of little interest
to the public mind. The only person who
Is competent to dissertate upon the "ad
vantages" ' of poverty is he who has
turned these advantages Into a large ac
cumulation of Industrial stocks or the coin
of the repubHc The man who has some
thing to show for an early Investment
in penury is assured of respectful atten
tion, especially If he Is suddenly flashed
before the public eyes as the head of a
colossal steel trust.
When Charles M. Schwab, president of
the United States Steel Corporation, tells
us how early poverty Is essential to suc
cess and how little he could have accom
plished without It, the young man with
nothing but brains and brawn and good
health pricks up his ears and takes a
fresh start. He begins to realize that
there may be something in the "poverty
argument" after all, notwithstanding its
temporary discomfortsand inconveniences.
And the rich man's son begins to wonder
how he can overcome the obstacles of
Inherited wealth. Commenting on early
poverty asman aid to his own success, the
great steel employer says:
"The rich man's son enters life's 'race
with a handicap. Not only the handicap
which a fortune is, because it deprives
him of the necessity to progress and ex
pand, but the handicap of never being
able to appreciate what he has. For
everything In life that Is worth while is
ten times more worth while when we
climb for if.
"The first great blessing In my life was
being born poor. The fundamental prin
ciples that founded my character were
the lessons wrung out of early hardships
and privations and self-denials. I would
not give up the experience of a boyhood
barren of luxuries and paved with ob
stacles for any amount of money. It
would be like pulling the foundation out
of a building."
It would be Idle to deny the force of
such testimony as this. The average boy
Is prone to take these sermons upon the
beauties and potencies of poverty cum
grano sails. The example of Mr. Scwab
has been multiplied so numerously In this
country, however, that the young man
does not need to listen to sermonizers.
He has but to look about him to see hun
dreds of Schwabs somewhat lower in the
financial scale. It is true In his own
town.
It requires no profound study of analy
sis of human nature to discover the
cause of the impelling power of poverty.
Want and desire are the stimulus of en
deavor. It takes an extraordinary man
to accomplish anything if all his wants
are anticipated and provided for. The
hardships, inconveniences, discomforts
and embarrassments of poverty stir a
young man to action. His desire to pos
sess the things of which he has been
deprived by the accident of indigent par
entage fills him with energy and determi
nation, and hence poverty becomes the
foundation of success.
Fortunate Indeed is the young man who
Is dowered with magnificent poverty."
"Annnins Stood Forth."
New York Tribune.
Richard Stuyvesant, of Spokane, Wash.,
In speaking of local affairs in his home
city at the Hotel Imperial yesterday said:
"About 10 years ago, when Spokane's
boom was creating excitement, H. H.
Kohlsaat, now proprietor of the Chicago
Times-Herald, began a newspaper enter
prise out there, and stood sponsor for
a paper called the Spokane Spokesman.
Joseph French Johnson, now professor in
the Columbian University at Washington,
and of economics and Journalism In the
University of Pennsylvania, was Installed
as managing editor. Charles B. Dilling
ham, at present a theatrical magnate in
New York, was the city editor, and Har
old C. Boke, who Is in Secretary Gage's
office In the Treasury Department at
Washington, was writing editorial para
graphs and was conducting what he used
to say. If it was regarded through friendly
lenses, might be termed a funny column
called SlIckens.' Among the city's offi
cials was a virile character for whom
the Spokesman conceived a tremendous
dislike. The Spokesman believed him to
be dishonest, and set out to expose his
methods. Johnson arraigned him in edi
torials of 'learned length and thundering
soun'd.' Dillingham had with damaging
Ingenuity played up the news features of
his City Treasury raids, and Boke aimed
his shafts at any vital spot which he
saw exposed. The attack was hot and
well sustained, and the Spokesman party
thought they had him well on the run,
and so did the people of Spokane. In fact,
the success of the attack was becoming
town talk, when on fine day the city offi
cial turned on those who sought to harass
him, and at one fell swoop he upset them
all. He was a member at this time of
the City Council. Addressing that body,
he said: 'Gentlemen, I have long been
a student of the Scriptures, but never
until recently was I able to fathom the
meaning of the statement, "And Ananias
stood forth." But now a great light has
dawned upon me. Now I know the mean
ing. Joseph French Johnson comes first,
Charles Bancroft Dillingham comes sec
ond, Harold Boke comes third, and An
anias comes fourth. The Councilman had
a volcanic manner, and this explosion so
convulsed the Council that It adjourned
in confusion."
Wise Ruling-.
New York Mail and Express.
Secretary Root's stout resistance to the
demand for the appointment of civilians
as Second Lieutenants In the Army will
be heartily approved by every supporter
of the merit principle in the military serv
ice. The Army reorganization bill express
ly provides that In making such appoint
ments preference shall be given to men
who have served In the volunteer service
since the outbreak of the Spanish War.
but notwithstanding this fact Mr. Root Is
overwhelmed with applications from civil
ians whose persistence Is discreditable to
themselves and embarrassing to the Gov
ernment. The sooner these ambitious can
didates for commissions get it into their
heads that nearly, If not quite all, of the
vacant Lleutenantcies in the regular
army will be filled by promotions from the
volunteer service, the better for them
selves and everybody else.
France's Xcyv Hero.
Josh Wink In Baltimore American.
Now. sins no song of the shining sword.
And lilt no lay of the lance.
But a paean pipe to the pistol ball
Of Castellane of France.
To the pistol ball that slowly curved,
In the swerving: scheme- of chance.
Till it came to rest with a wicked zest.
And tore De Rodays' pants.
For years and years have the duelists.
In the land of the fleur do lis.
From shocks and Jars, and battle scars.
And wounds, been etrancely free.
But Castellane. with his mighty arm.
And, too, with his trembling knee.
Broke through the mold of the custom old,
And shot most wickedly.
So, a glad refrain to the Castellane,
Whose rage no worda could stem
With his coronet all proudly set,
With Ire In each bright gem.
And some words of praise for poor De Ro
days, Who has sore need of them.
"I am shot." cried he, "Just between the knee
And G o'clock A. M."
Now. Hit no lay of the luring light.
That leers, on the lifted lance.
But praises 'pipe to the pistol ball
Of Castellane of France,
To Bonl. too, of the dainty airs.
And the modest, shrinking glance.
Who proudly raged and his wrath assuaged
And tore De Rodays' pants.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
This seems to be
March.
a sort of Wagnerian
Carnegie Is singularly free from compe
tition in his latest enterprises.
The Czar Is apparently In need of a
new peace conference. The last one didn't
take.
TMs Is not the most pleasant weather
Imaginable, but it discourages the shirt
waist man.
Any agreement In Morocco certainly
ought to be binding, even If the Sultan
doesn't think so.
It begins to look as If th'e Commoner
would have to offer Mexican dollars as
premiums for new subscribers.
Now doth John Jenkln3, gentle man.
Eternally repose.
Because he, thinking Spring had come.
Put on Spring underclothes.
There has been a mutiny in the Kan
sas penitentiary. The poor convicts want
ed to get outside and have a go at the
strenuous life all around them.
The voluntary enlistments for the Boer
War are not equal to the demand. For a
country which has been thdroughly sub
dued, the Transvaal seems to reaulre a
very large army.
An Oshkosh preacher has announced his
belief that good beer is better than bad
water. In a day or two his front hall
will be full of newspaper reporters wait
ing for Mrs. Nation.
Here are some answers to school exam
ination questions in England: One lad.
In answer to the question. "What Is a
limited monarchy?" wrote thus: "A lim
ited monarchy Is government by a King,
who, in case of bankruptcy, would not
be responsible for the entire national
debt. You have the same thing in pri
vate life In limited liability companies."
A boy not as conversant with American
as with English history wrote In answer
to the question. "Who were the Pilgrim
fathers?" "They were the fathers of good
young men who went on the crusades to
the Holy Land." "Molasses" was defined
as "the American word for the little
mules used to carry provisions up the
Andes mountains in California."
A well-known Philadelphia artist tells
this story about his granddaughter, a lit
tle girl of 3: The little girl, of course,
says her prayers every night before she
is put to bed, and Is usually, to quote her
grandfather, very "long-winded" about It.
First she has to say the Lord's Prayer,
then the one beginning "Now I lay me
down to sleep," and then comes, "Cod
bless grandpa, and grandma, and papa and
mamma, and Unkle George and Unkle
Charlie and Aunt Kate." and so on, ad In
finitum, until all the members of the
family are Included. Then she says
"Amen." and quickly adds: "And God
bless Mary." After she had finished the
other night her mother asked her why
she said "amen" first, and then always
added: "God bless Mary," as though it
were a postscript. "Well, you know,
mamma," replied the tot, "I didn't want
to get her mixed up with you ladies'"
It may bo unnecessary to add that Mary
Is the nurse maid.
Senator Cockrell, whose proud boast has
been that he never came out second best
In any kind of a swap met his Waterloo
at the hands of a Washington faker not
long ago. He had some little folks from
Missouri, visiting him for the inaugura
tion, and he thought It would please them
to carry home some souvenir. Mr. Cock
rell meandered forth, expended about $1 39
with a curbstone merchant, and carried
back an armload of silver and bronze me
mentos. The Senator's daughter looked at them
and burst Into laughter. The Senator be
came curious and demanded to know
what was the matter. Then, taking up
his purchases seriatim. Miss Cockrell
showed him that the souvenirs were com
memorative of events reaching as far
back as the Centennial, but that not one
of the Inauguration was in the lot.
"The only consolation I had,' said the
Senator afterward, "was that the medal
ordered struck off by Ferdinand-and Isa
bella In honor of the discovery of America
was not in the collection."
PLEASAXTRIES OF PAIUGItAPHEHS
Not Generally. "Has your engagement been
announced?" "Only Informally, to a few ene
mies." Puck.
High Praise. Penelope That was a fine
masquerade ball, wasn't It? Perdlta-Wasn't
It? I never saw you look so well in my life.
Detroit Free Press.
The Question Nowadays. Friend I under
stand your receiving teller has skipped? Bank
President (sadly) That's what! Friend-Did
he leave much? Puck.
Tompkins I'm afraid we haven't much for
dinner today; but such as it is Cheerful
Friend Don't make any excuse, old chap. Ke
member, I've dined at your house beforo. Tlt
Blts. His Status. He Look here, my dear. I can
not afford to entertain on such a scale as you
have Indulged In of late. She John. I really
believe you are Just the kind of man who
would be perfectly happy It you lived within
your Income. Life.
Something New. He I saw our old neigh
bor. Mr. Skinner, today. She-Did you? What
Is he doing now? He-He's Interested In ono
of these wild-cat mining companies. She The
ideal I never knew you had to mine for wild
cats. Philadelphia Press
Unnecessary Preliminaries. "I can't under
stand all this preliminary talk about that duel,
those Frenchmen are to fight," said the emi
nent pugilist. "As I understand it, the event
isn't to be pulled off under the auspices of an
athletic club, and there Is to be no gate
money to divide." Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph.
With a Grievance. I understand you
whipped my boy this morning." the angry
father said, striding into the schoolroom after
the children had been dismissed. "Yes. sir. I
did." the terrified teacher answered. "But I
did not whip him severely." "That's what
I'm kicking about," he rejoined. "You didn't
hurt him at all. Now. look here, sir, I'm one
of the largest taxpayers In this school dis
trict, and my boy Is entitled to as good a
whipping as you give any other boy. Under
stand that! If you slight him again, you 11
hear from me In a way you won't like. Good
afternoon, sir." Chicago Tribune.
A Mother's Love.
Boston Journal. .
When a boy Is far away from home.
What pleases him the most?
Whr. H'8 wh'en a letter comes to hint
From mother thro the post!
No matter If the silver hairs
Appear upon his head.
He's still his mother's boy as when
Hl3 hair was carrot red!
Tho' thirty years have left their marks
And seared his careworn face.
In mother's eyes he's yet a lad
Without Time's telltale trace!
Her letter thus begins: "Dear boy":
It sets his heart athrlll
To think that mother knows him as '
A little shaver still.
A mother's love is as a charm
The sesame of youth!
One feels that age has naught to do
With Love or Life or Truth,
Whene'er he gets a letter from '
His mother far away.
Who see3 naught but the guileless child.
Behind the man grown gray.